Alternative for Rural Movement (ARM)

Their activities include:

• Child Empowerment: To support neglected rural children, ARM runs Adarsha Vidya Mandir Model School, in coordination with Action Children Aid-Denmark. The children are provided nutritious mid-day meals. ARM works with Child India Foundation to help children between 5 to 16 years of age to stop child labor, torture, and social disparity and also adovocates for basic child rights.
• Health: ARM has been providing quality health care for the past many years with active public support and financial support from National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Government of Odisha for constructive transformation in the rural health sector. Focus areas are currently pre and post natal care, malnutrition, chronic diseases. Sanitation, potable water and nutrition are also a part of community health services.
• Women Empowerment: Women belonging to tribal communities are being trained on bamboo handicrafts for skill development and eventually financial independence. There are also formations of Self-help Groups to promote micro financing, proper utilization of credit and entrepreneurial opportunities.
• Childline: A 24-hour child helpline service was started for children at risk, missing, or in need of care and protection. This is supported by Child India Foundation and Government of India.
• Livelihood: Lives of landless poor, fishermen and abandoned women are bettered by training them for various livelihood options such as tailoring, repair shops, saloons to enable income generation and stop unnecessary child labor.
• Capacity Building: ARM holds workshops with several committee members to increase awareness around sanitation and hygiene, importance of eradicating open defecation. The committee members of these workshops then help spreading the message among their communities.